ALPHALAND
Corp. will open next month a two-hectare sports club in Makati City, a senior
company official told reporters at Fairmont Makati hotel yesterday.

“We have a
new project opening, the City Club. We’ve been very, very busy on the project.
We will have formal opening on Sept. 5,” Marianna H. Yulo, Alphaland chief
financial officer and treasurer, said at the sidelines of the 5th Annual
Corporate Treasury & CFO Summit.

“It’s a very
exciting thing for us and we hope the reception will be very good. That’s a
two-hectare sports club. We will have different world-class sports facilities
like tennis courts there.”

Ms. Yulo said
the sports club is a component of Alphaland Makati Place, a mixed-use
development rising at the corner of Ayala Avenue Extension and Malugay Street.

“It’s
actually part of our residential development. When you buy a residential unit,
it comes with a club share,” she explained.

“We haven’t
formally launched selling activities for the club shares. Next month will be
the first time that we’re launching the project to the public and first time
selling activity will begin.”

Asked on the
cost of the project, Ms. Yulo said it’s part of the P9-billion investment for
the entire Makati Place. “The entire project, the Makati Place, consists of
three residential towers and a six-storey podium which has a basement, a
three-storey mall, and the City Club which is located in the fourth, fifth and
sixth floors,” she said.

At the same
time, Alphaland is still in talks with parties interested in Alphaland Tower,
another property in Makati City, Ms. Yulo said when asked for developments on
this project. Earlier this month, Alphaland said it was in talks with various
firms, including Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., for the sale of
Alphaland Tower.

“We’re doing
finishing touches on the tower. We’ve received a lot of offers for the tower --
both on the leasing and buying sides. We’re assessing all our options at this
point,” she said, describing the parties concerned only as “mostly local
companies.”

Alphaland
Tower, located along Ayala Avenue in Makati City’s central business district,
is a 34-storey building with a floor area of 48,000 square meters, according to
the company’s Web site.

Alphaland
shares lost P2 or 4.44% to close at P43 apiece yesterday from P45 each on
Friday last week. Philippine financial markets were closed on Monday and
Tuesday due to floods, and on Wednesday due to a public holiday -- Claire-Ann
Marie C. Feliciano